


The Better Part of 2012

by Phanarchy



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alcohol, Fluff, Gambling, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-14 01:43:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14760203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phanarchy/pseuds/Phanarchy
Summary: There’s a reason Phil suggested taking Dan to Vegas for his 21st birthday. It’s the same reason all the footage mysteriously disappeared.





	The Better Part of 2012

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This work was originally posted to my Tumblr on Feb. 23rd, 2017. If you'd like to give it some notes, it can be found [here!](https://phanarchy.tumblr.com/post/157624331068/the-better-part-of-2012)
> 
> You can also follow me at [phanarchy!](https://phanarchy.tumblr.com)

“Dan,” Phil whispered as he booped his boyfriend’s nose in bed, “Wake up, baby. Happy Birthday!”

Dan groaned and hid his face in the crook of his arm. “My birthday doesn’t start until 11am. Before then it’s not acceptable to wake me up.” He chuckled as he ripped the sheet up and over his head.

“It’s 10:52,” Phil said. “And I already ordered breakfast, so you might want to put on pants. They’ll be here any minute,” Phil laughed.

“Hhhnnngggg, well shit. I guess I have no choice.” He rolled out of bed and slipped back into the swimming shorts he had been wearing all day yesterday.

The hotel Phil had booked was really quite impressive. It was beautiful, of course, and it had a pool which they had been hesitant to leave yet, what with the desert heat in June. So far they had hardly seen any of Vegas.

As they heard a knock on the door, Dan scrambled to the opposite bed. It hadn’t been used. The move was not lost on Phil, who frowned slightly.

“We’re not gonna get caught, relax.”

Phil answered the door and wheeled in the shining cart with their room service, tipping the employee generously as he waved goodbye. Much too perky for the time, Dan thought. Phil set their silver trays on the bed and sat next to Dan.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing Dan’s attention. He pulled his face up to meet his, kissing his boyfriend softly. When the time came for a typical kiss to be broken, Phil only gained passion. Dan thought he may melt into Phil from it all. He began cursing the edges where Phil ended and he began, wishing instead to be one entity, like this forever.

Only then when that ache became clear did Phil stop to catch his breath. And that’s when Dan noticed he too had stopped breathing.

“What was that for?” Dan asked, staring intensely.

“I just wanted to,” Phil answered as he took the safety lighter from the tray.

“Wait.. Why is there a lighter?”

Phil lifted the cover from Dan’s meal and revealed the stack of waffles underneath, dotted with whipped cream, coated in sprinkles, with a single candle placed in the center. Phil lit the candle.

“Happy birthday, Dan.” Phil watched as Dan gave him that look that said really? but it quickly turned into genuine appreciation.

“I love you, Phil,” he said.

“I know you do,” Phil answered seriously. He abruptly snapped back into cheerful mode as he continued, “I love you too. Now make a wish!”

Dan thought for a moment, his eyes catching his boyfriend’s and blew it out in a puff of breath. 

By 7pm, the day had been filled to the brim with sightseeing and exploring. They had ridden a roller-coaster, explored a castle replica, toured the make-shift French Riviera (deciding after all that they would have to see the real one some day). And now sat across from one another in a dimly lit dining room of a rather fancy restaurant Phil had been lucky enough to get a table at.

The candle light glowed against their faces and Dan giggled at how romantic it was. Phil finished his second glass on champagne that night.

“Well, this really has been a great birthday, Phil. Thank you.” Dan stood up from the table, readying himself to return to the hotel. Phil rose to meet him.

“You say that like it’s over!” Phil interjected excitedly. “We’ve only done the wholesome stuff so far. Are you up for some gambling?”

Dan considered it for a moment as they opened the door of the restaurant and exited onto the Vegas strip, the sun setting low behind the skyline. Orange faded to pink, faded to dark blue.

“Yeah, what the hell. We’re in Vegas after all. Who knows when we’ll be back.”

With that, Phil grabbed Dan’s hand and pulled him into the nearest hotel casino he could see.

“You’re so excitable today, Phil. What’s different?” Dan questioned, though the smile on his face revealed he was actually quite enjoying it.

“I’m just really happy to be here with you,” he said, leaning his head on Dan’s shoulder for just a moment. Just long enough that even people who recognized them would miss the chance to capture it on film.

“Well, I’ll get drinks. Gotta celebrate being 21 and being able to drink in the States.” Dan trailed away from his partner slowly, glancing over his shoulder to watch him awkwardly standing around a roulette table. Dan gently shook his head smiling. That boy.

“Sex on the Beach and a Mojito, please,” he said when the bartender finally addressed him.

“ID, kid?” Dan was too encapsulated by the night to be offended. His haircut after all, made him look like a teenager from five years prior. He showed him the UK identification and the bartender made the cocktails in silence.

With one in each hand, he returned to Phil, giving him the Sex on the Beach and taking a long swig from his Mojito.

“Damn that’s strong,” he said. “Good though. So how do you play?”

“Roulette is a bit too complicated to explain everything right away,” said a stranger from behind them. The woman was easily a foot shorter than them. “But watch for a little while and you’ll get the idea.”

So they did, and for two hours they bet the minimum on occasion, but truthfully just finding entertainment in watching others. The alcohol slowly hitting their bloodstream and pulling their heads higher into the air. The excitement around them pulsing, Phil spoke.

“I feel really lucky right now, Dan.” Dan lightly slapped his arm.

“Phil, tonight I’m done being skeptical,” Dan nearly slurred. “If you have a feeling, you go for it.”

“Kiss me,” he said. Dan’s eye widened, the statement sobering him momentarily. He looked around to see if any obvious fans were nearby. When he noticed no one even turned their heads at them, he could feel his shoulders drop, calmer already.

“I’d feel a lot luckier if you kissed me,” Phil repeated. Dan blushed deeply, looking at his feet.

“Come on, darling,” a tipsy onlooking woman cheered. “Kiss him!”

Suddenly the whole table was rooting for it, and Dan leaped forward to meet Phil’s lips, realizing that this may be the only time they could be in public with little risk of running into a subscriber. After all, their core audience probably wouldn’t be allowed into a casino, to say the least.

He kissed him gingerly, sharing his love for Phil in front of others for the very first time.

With that, Phil blew on his chips and set them in 3 spots into the board. The red 9, symbolizing the year they met, the black 11, symbolizing the date which was now Dan’s birthday, but Phil was now about 95% sure would mean something more very soon. And finally, the red 21, Dan’s age, as of today. He didn’t share his thought process with anyone.

And as the wheel spun, and the table went silent, Dan closed his eyes, opening them to the sound of happy screaming and the feeling of a pat on the back. A random man gripped his shoulder and shook him slightly.

The ball had stuck on 21.

“Oh my god!” He shouted. “How much did we win?” He looked at Phil, watching his partner cover his smile with both hands.

“In your favorite words, Dan- A fuckload.” Phil kissed him again. Dan wrapped his arms around Phil entirely, throwing all sense of caution to the wind. When the two finally parted, Phil was grinning.

“Let’s get married,” he said. Dan smiled widely, albeit a look of confusion in his eyes.

“Tonight? Are you serious?” he questioned. “Can we even do that? We’re not even citizens here.” Dan brushed the thought out of his mind, but hope rose from his chest into his throat, where it felt remarkably like nervousness. He swallowed, looking his boyfriend dead in the eye.

“I looked it up. If we get married tonight, it’s legal in the UK. I brought our birth certificates. I wanted to have the opportunity to be spontaneous, if it felt right. And my god, it feels right to me.” He waited for Dan to answer, but Dan just stood still, tears threatening to spill from his dark eyes. “Dan? What do you think?”

“You’re really proposing right now?” he asked. Dan wiped the corners of his eyes, failing to be subtle.

“I really am. What do you say?” Phil grabbed Dan’s hands and pulled his body close.

“It feels so fucking right,” Dan said. He closed the distance between them, engulfing Phil and holding tight to his waist as he leaned backwards, lifting Phil’s feet off the ground for as long as he could hold him.

“We’re really doing this,” Dan confirmed. Phil laced their fingers together.

“We really are.” He squeezed tighter. “Let’s go!”

By 11pm, they were standing in suits and ties in a cheesy little chapel. They had decided to walk together down the aisle, arm in arm. As the Wedding March began to play, Dan hesitated.

“Dan?” Phil gave him a worried look, causing Dan to bust out in laughter. He shook his head. He stepped forward, signaling for Phil that everything was definitely still on.

“It’s nothing,” he said. “It’s just that this was literally my wish.”


End file.
